Improvement in wagon-bodies



IH. A. .LUTTGENS.

Wagon-Bodies. N0.134,996.

Patented-Jan. 21.187,3.

.f AM. PHUT-LITHOSRAPHIC 60. N. X (OSBORNES PROCESS) PATENT GEETGE.

ENRY AUGUSTUS LUTTGENS, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN WAGON-BODIES..

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 134,996, dated anuaryQ1., r1873.

v view of thesame; Figs. IV and V, a part of the side and end elevationon an enlarged scale; and Fig. VI,V a part of the top view of the sameon an enlarged scale.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspondin g parts in each ofthe several gures. My invention consists, first, in the construction ofcarriage-bodies in a manner to insure permanence in thecorner-fastenings by mak4 ing the corners separately and of malleableiron or other metal, each corner-piece being provided with a ilange,whereby it is secured to the bottom of the sill. The edges of thecorner-pieces are constructed so as to secure the side and end panels ofthe body to their inner sides by bolts or rivets, a wrought-iron washerbeing placed inside of the panels, so

" that the ends of the panels, forming the sides and ends of thecarriage-body, are firmly pressed and secured by bolts or rivets betweenthe corner-piece and washer. Secondly, the ilnprovement consistsin theconstruction of the sill, which, instead of being made in one piece, ismade in the shape of a truss, with a central bolt uniting thetop of thetruss with the lower sill, the sill and truss-bars being furtherconnected by one or more vertical pieces or uprights, whereby the trussis rmly held in position, thusaft'ording an efficient support for theload placed into the carriagebody, and at the same time preserving theside panels in position. The bottom of the bows, which support the topof the carriage, are supported by brackets, which are bolted to theinside of the truss-bars, and the bows placed at the corners are securedto the inside of the corner castings either by bolts, the heads of whichenter recesses provided upon the inside of the corner castings, or asocket is formed, which is secured by the same bolts which connect thecorner-pieces with the side and end panels of the carriage-body. IfraveA pieces are required to support the seats-'they are secured to thetruss and supported by the same, being cut out at those points where thebrackets, it' needed for supporting the central top bows, are secured tothe truss-bars.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

A Arepresent the side panels, and B B the front and rear panel of acarriage-body, which are securely bolted or riveted to corner-pieces Gand fastened to the cross-bars L, to the sills D, to trussbars E and F,and rave-pieces G. The corner-pieces C are so made as to form the squareor rounded corner of the carriagebody, and are made to receive the sideand end panels A A and B B, which are secured to the inside of thecorner-pieces O by rivets or bolts. If secured by rivets the part ofcorner-piece C which receives the pan-els A and B is made with a smoothor plane surface; but when secured by bolts the projections h are castor formed upon the inner side of corl ner-pieces C for the purpose ofeither receiving the countersunk heads of boltsI h', which are putinfrom the outside of the carriage body, or to Vreceive the end of boltsi, which enter the corner-piece C from the inside of the carriagebody,the projections l1.l of the cornerpiece being then provided with tappedholes for this purpose. The panels A A and B B are notched out at theends to make room for the projections h when used, and plates or washers7c are placed upon the inside of the panels A A and B B, so that therivets or bolts, as the case may be, which secure the corner-pieces Cand panels A and B, and which also pass through the plates 7c,rmlypressor hold the panels A and B between two metal plates. Thecorner-piece C is provided l with a ange, Z, which is bolted to thebottom of sill D, and also with a small flange, m, at the top, whichextends to the inside of the panels A, A,B, and B. A socket,n,for thereception of the bows 1) supporting the carriagetop, is formed by thetwo plates or washers 7c, belonging to each corner-piece C, being inthat case made of a plate of metal sufficiently large to form, incombination with the inside face of the corner-piece C, the socket n.

A modification of this plan is represented in The rave-pieces Gr, ifneeded for supporting the seats of the carriage, are placed above thetruss-bars E. F and secured to the latter.

Supporting-pieces 1' s tu are placed between the truss-bars E F, sill D,and the rave-piece G. The rave-piece G is cut out to admit the Q bracketo, which supports the central bow w, ithe bracket o being firmly boltedto the inside of bow lw, and also to the truss-bars E and F by bolts zz. One bracket, o, only is shown upon the drawing. The sill D is notchedto receive the lower end s of the trussbars E and F, the sill andtruss-bars being secured together. The upright H, which is tenoned intothe sill D and truss-bars E and F, secures the latter in their verticalposition.

. rlhejcap-piece w, which is bolted by its ange to the upper ends of thetruss-bars E and F, receives the truss-bolt z, which also passes throughsill D and supports the center of the same.

The operation is as follows: The side and end panels A, A, B, and B,instead of being fastened by means of wood-screws to the top bows p andw of the carriage-body so as to make the bows form a part of thecarriagebody, these parts are so made that the bows p and w may beconnected with the carriagebody or removed at will.

The corner-pieces C are made separate and the ends of panels A and B aresecured by bolts or rivets to the inside face 4of the corner-pieces C,the panels A and Bbeing compressed between two plates, so thattheposition of the panels vA and B is not dependent l upon wood-screws, asordinarily, but firmly secured between the inside face of cornerj pieceC and plates or washers 7a by bolts or rivets. The corner-pieces 0themselves may bemolded into a shape forming a round or square corner,with or without panels, and are adjusted and secured by iange Zto thesill D,

` a bolt connecting the flange and sill.

The strength of the panels and sills when secured together bywood-screws is often found y ins1 1fiicient,'so that the panels changetheir position, and the wood-screws connecting them The D, truss-bars EF, upright H, and truss-bolt z form in combination a rigid support forthe weight, which is placed upon the rave-pieces G, entirely independentof the sidel panels A A, so that the panels A are not liable to bedisplaced or to change their position by the4 weight, which may besupported by the carriage-body.

The carriage-top is removable by means of the corner-bows p beingremoved from socket n; or as represented inthe modification, Figs. IV,V, and VI, the bolts o o entering recesses q q are loosened, when alsothe bolts connecting the bracket o to truss-bars E and F aredisconnected, so that the whole top may bey readily taken o' from thecarriage-body, or replaced, if so desired.

A modification may be made in the construction of the side-truss. Thetruss-bolt z may be dispensed with, when each truss-bar, E and F, mustbe provided with an upright piece, H.

Vhenever a stationary seat is used the rave-pieces are dispensed with,and vertical pieces, supporting the seat, are halved into and securedtothe sill D andtruss bars E and F.

The corner-pieces C may be modified in shape to be adapted to variousdesigns of carriagebodies; they may be made to include the corner of theback seat, if so desired, in which case the carriagetop, if used, isLfastened to the top of the scat.

The side panels A, instead of beingfastened to the sill D and truss-barsE and F by woodscrews entered from the outside, may be secured togetherby entering the wood-screws from the inside; or, instead of this mode offastening, corner-strips may be introduced, which are fastened by screwsto sill D and panel A and to the truss-bars E and F and panel A.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination of corner-pieces G, panels A and B, sill D, truss-barsF, and upright piece H, substantially in the manner and for the purposeas described.

H. A. LUTTGENS.

- Witnesses: v

JOHN L. STAGG, WM. S. HUDSON, Jr.

